Shiv Sena frets, fumes over govt's madrassa grant

The Shiv Sena has lashed out at the decision of the Congress-NCP-led state government to give grants to madrassas, pointing  out that Muslim youth could not be mainstreamed through religious education but through admissions to schools and colleges.

The Sena has called the decision a “breach of faith” by a government which calls itself secular and charged that this has been done with the 2014 polls in mind. Seeking Hindu retaliation against minority appeasement, it held madarssas responsible for creating jihadis across the world.

“Though Prithvirajbaba’s government does not take any other decisions… it has spared no efforts to pander to Muslims,” said an editorial in the Shiv Sena mouthpiece, Saamna, on Thursday, alleging that this was part of vote bank politics.

“The grants to madrassas are like purchasing Muslim votes with government money,” said the newspaper which is edited by party president Uddhav Thackeray and has Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut as the executive editor.

“The Muslim children in madrassas are given religious education and such madrassas create jihadis worldwide,” the editorial said, claiming that the state government was neglecting the demands of Hindus.

It pointed out that many schools in Maharashtra do not have full-time teachers and added that Marathi schools in Mumbai and Maharashtra were in trouble. “Babamiya (CM Prithviraj Chavan), who is callous about this, wants to put up golden tiles on madrassas and give cash doles to mullas…” the editorial charged.